This invention pertains to vehicle-surface-contacting elements, such as non-woven synthetic cloth shapes used in vehicle laundry implements such as brushes and mitter curtains and more particularly, to a brush element having certain desired appearance characteristics and to a method of making same.
It is common to use synthetic felt shapes as the vehicle-surface-contacting components of vehicle laundry implements such as brushes and mitter curtains. These elements are made of non-woven, fibrous, sheet-like material generally manufactured by needle punching to integrate quantities of randomly arranged strands of synthetic fibers such as polyester and polypropylene. Brush and mitter curtain elements made of these materials are believed to be essentially non-damaging to the bright metal and painted surfaces of the vehicle and are widely used in modern day carwash systems.
While manufacturers generally endeavor to provide the best possible mechanical systems for use in carwashes and the like, they have no direct control over the quality of the vehicle contacting elements which are used in and in combination with their mechanical components, particularly as replacement parts. Since the cloth elements wear out fairly rapidly as a result of repeated contact with vehicle surfaces and since after-market replacements vary substantially in quality and physical characteristics, it is desirable for the equipment manufacturer who, out of concern for its reputation, to be able to readily determine whether the cloth elements which it manufactures or recommends for use in its equipment are actually being used by owners in the field.
Because typical cloth elements are blue in color and typically all look essentially the same, it is not possible to readily determine the manufacturing origin of replacement cloth elements used in carwash equipment without obtaining a sample of the element and subjecting it to substantial testing and/or close inspection.
The present invention provides a vehicle surface contacting element for use in a vehicle laundry implement such as a brush or a mitter curtain which is of distinctive character and appearance and which is readily Identifiable as one which originates with a particular manufacturer.
In general, this is achieved by providing a vehicle contacting element in the form of a sheet-like body of fibrous material having at least two substantially physically integrated layers of visually distinct colors which layers, although physically integrated to the point where the sheet is essentially unitary, remain sufficiently visually distinct as to be readily identified by mere inspection.
In the preferred form, the element comprises three color layers, the outer layers being of one color and the intermediate layer being of another color such that the body appears to have an edge stripe of distinctive appearance.
Another aspect of the invention is the method of manufacturing an element of the type described above. In general, the manufacturing method comprises the steps of providing at least first and second quantities of non-woven fibrous material such as polyester, polypropylene or combinations of same and integrating the masses of material sufficiently to produce a sheet-like body of unitary character but which retains visually distinctive layers of different color which can be readily identified.
In the preferred form, the method of manufacturing is such as to provide a sheet material of which the opposite outer layers are of similar or identical color and the intermediate layer is of a contrasting color so that shapes cut from the sheet exhibit an edge stripe of the contrasting color. So manufactured, the cut shape appears to be of uniform color when viewed from front or back but displays the visually distinctive edge stripe of contrasting color which can be used to readily identify the element as one originating from a particular source. The denier of the fibers used for the intermediate layer may be smaller than that of the outer layers in a three-layer body.